Have you ever devoted a Sunday afternoon to baking bread only to turn out loaves that are misshapen and dense? Or struggled over pie crust, ending up with a dry and crumbly dough that was impossible to roll out? We have. And that?s why we?ve tested and retested hundreds of recipes to give you the guidance and the confidence to make everything from the perfect zucchini bread?one that your neighbors will actually want to eat?to light and flaky croissants that are (almost) as good as what you will find on the streets of Paris.

Packed with 350 recipes and 500 illustrations, Baking Illustrated brings you inside America?s Test Kitchen, where the test cooks and editors have exhaustively examined every ingredient, technique, and piece of equipment that is critical to your baking success. Have you wondered how long you can keep that can of baking powder in your cabinet or what brand of chocolate will yield the best brownies or flourless chocolate cake? Or puzzled over the key to making pizza crust that is thin and crisp or cookies that bake evenly? The staff at America?s Test Kitchen has pulled back the curtain on the seemingly complex world of baking to give you the answers to these and thousands of other questions.

Recipes range from quick breads and yeast breads to pizza, cookies, cakes, pastry, crisps, and cobblers to all manner of pies and tarts. And they include American home classics (including Southern cornbread, Pecan Sandies, and Sour Cream Coffee Cake) as well as more contemporary favorites (such as Rosemary Focaccia, Orange-Almond Biscotti, and Chocolate Truffle Tart) and European baked goods (such as Brioche, Black Forest Cake, and Tarte Tatin). Every recipe has been exhaustively researched and tested with hundreds of ingredients and techniques to bring you the ?best? recipe (we?ll let you be the judge) along with detailed and precise explanations for everything from why you should use unsalted butter to what is the best over temperature and why either one matters. We?ve also tested every kind of baking equipment available, from mixers and food processors to the humblest spatulas and loaf pans, and the results of our experiments are described throughout so you can benefit from our trial and error.

And because we know that good baking depends on understanding basic techniques, Baking Illustrated features a 16-page, four-color insert that shows you how to avoid some of the most common pitfalls in baking, such as overmixed egg whites, cheesecakes that crack, bread dough that has overproofed, and muffins that overflow the tins and are impossible to extract from the pan. (We know a lot about mistakes?we?ve made them all). We don?t want you to take the time to bake a layer cake from scratch only to settle for that ?homemade? look. The visuals in this insert show you how to do it right. Color photographs demonstrate good results as well as bad, and hand-drawn, step-by-step illustrations help you to perfect your technique for fail-safe baking.

Baking Illustrated also gives you a few handy tutorials on baking basic, including how to stock your pantry and how to store and measure ingredients, cream butter, and roll out pie dough. A master baking class between two covers, Baking Illustrated takes the guesswork out of baking and will expand your repertoire without ever losing sight of your ultimate goal: making family favorites that will taste better than you ever imagined.

"With step-by-step illustrations on everything from how to remove bar cookies so they don't crumble to chopping nuts, and a section on ingredients that goes as far as to recommend specific brands, this is an indispensable, comprehensive baking reference." Publishers Weekly

"Experienced bakers will gain new insights and be inspired to cast off those traditional methods that have been proven unnecessary or less effective than others. In turn, novices have the opportunity to gain an invaluable understanding of the why's of baking. This is the best instructional book on baking this reviewer has seen." Mary Schlueter, Library Journal

Packed with 375 recipes, more than 150 4-color photos and 400 illustrations, Baking Illustrated brings you inside America's Test Kitchen, where the Test cooks and Editors have exhaustively examined every ingredient, technique and piece of equipment that is critical to your baking success.